Hi Everyone! I’ve been tagged by my good buddy, Gene Lempp, of Designing from Bones, to post random facts so we can all get to know each other better. Are you sure you’re ready for this? Okay, here goes:

10. I’ve always loved collecting things: in my teens, I collected boyfriends but became more discerning as I matured. I have collections of lighthouses and seashells (love  the ocean!), books in many genres, clear glass paperweights, Nutcracker soldiers, Santas, AnnaLeigh characters, Betty Boop (my role model), DVDs, CDs, 8-track tapes, 45 rpm records, albums (the music collections are a combo of mine and my husband’s), photographs,and so much more that I have given away to family members.

9. When I was in my 20s, I took a couple of Dale Carnegie Courses…How to Win Friends and Influence People and The Dale Carnegie Sales Course. Can’t say I was ever a great salesperson, but I made some lifelong friendships in those classes and I worked for the organization for sometime. Dale Carnegie was a good man with great advice. I still remember the memory challenges we learned in class and use them to this day…it involves stacking things…and my faux pas while speaking to the class. I’ll leave that for another blog.

8. I’ve suffered all my life with ‘Middle-Child Syndrome‘. Don’t laugh! It’s really real! I don’t know why my sisters roll their eyes at the mere mention of it. You think it’s easy being in the middle – too young for things my much older sister could do – and not as cute as my baby sister? My only option was to try to excel at everything to get noticed. Well, that didn’t work, but I am prettier and smarter than either of them…nah, nah, na, nah, nah!

7.  I was a badass, or pretended to be, when I was young, in my 20s. For several years I rode with a motorcycle club. Loved being on the back of the Harley Chopper, leaning against the sissy bar, with my long auburn hair ruffling in the wind. I  didn’t need to wrap my arms around my guy; I was one with that machine. He’d rest his hand on my thigh and, with the club, we’d ride all over NY. Riding on the back of a chopper was like sex on wheels…also another blog another time.

6. I’ve read, literally, hundreds of books and articles on the subject of weight loss, aging and general health, until I became somewhat of an expert. You might ask why that isn’t the focus of my blog today…I had a health/mid-life blog for a few years. I still love passing on what I learned, but I needed to learn to write in a way that wasn’t preachy. I will go back to it, as it’s a big part of who I am, and I intend to re-establish myself as an expert in that field and write a non-fiction book. You can find a couple of my old health blogs in my archives on this blog.

5. Back in the early 1990s, I bought Nintendo video games for my kids. The original Mario was the most popular at the time. My son and daughter had a blast playing and got quite good at it. What they didn’t realize is that I was playing it, too…while they were in school (I was a stay-at-home-mom). It wasn’t long before I mastered that game. I knew where every secret prize and points were hidden. They’d come home from school and get so mad at me for beating them at their own game! I loved it! I even rubbed it in with victory dances! Oooh, what an obnoxious mom, I was!

4. I lived in Las Vegas for a year in the 1990s. My late 1st husband was a chef/restaurant owner and lost his upscale business when so much of our city’s manufacturing and electronics businesses moved south or overseas. His clientele was mostly corporate and celebrity customers (yet another blog idea). He had cousins who live in Vegas and thought it would be good to relocate where there was family. I love that part of the country. It has its own beauty and good people, but is much different from the Northeast in so many ways. The kids enjoyed schools with no roofs (only 2″ of rain annually at the time), I loved the lack of snow and my husband enjoyed working, gaining the corporate experience, as executive chef in a hotel/casino restaurant as opposed to being self-employed. I miss it sometimes.

3. I’m an organizer. In 1985, I got involved with a local historical association who wanted to raise funds to create a replica of the first United States plank road, which happened to have been built in my hometown in the 1800s. (and another blog idea!) They had been holding an annual festival, which was poorly attended and consisted of little to entertain the public. I offered to organize a juried craft show for them and it was a big hit. We all brainstormed new ideas and the festival profits skyrocketed! That led to doing the same in my son’s school where I was PTA President raising money for cafeteria renovations, which led to organizing for other groups in subsequent years.

2. Like Kerry Meacham, I finally, after years of wishing for it, was able to go on a whale watch off the coast of P-Town, Cape Cod, MA! We saw many whales come very close to our boat. I didn’t catch shots of them breeching like Kerry’s, but the one shown here is close. It was an awesome experience being so close to them; they’re absolutely majestic! P-Town, where anything goes, was a blast, too!

1. I met the love of my life (my current husband) on an online social networking site (not a dating site per se) called Eons, three years ago. I had been a member of the site for about 6 months and met tons of great folks who I spoke with daily. (And, yes, another blog idea.) I began a group for NY’ers to meet at what we call SKITS (which stands for Spending Your Kids’ Inheritance Tour). This man joined my club and I responded with a red carpet (picture) welcome. Little did I know, it wasn’t the first time he’d seen my picture. He checked out where I lived (important because members live all over the country), and then asked me out to dinner. He drove 2 1/2 hours to take me to dinner! This might not sound too unusual to people under 40, but for the rest of us, it’s tough to find a divorced/widowed man who will be comfortable taking  a chance on getting hurt or being rejected in any way, let alone driving any distance to meet a woman!  Well, it was love at first sight and we spent every weekend together after that. We’ve been married now since March, 2010. We are perfectly matched partners and having so much fun!

So, that’s a glimpse into the ‘real’ me. I hope you enjoyed it!

*Rubs hands together with an evil grin* Now it’s my turn to tag some of my dear friends!

1. Jess Witkins   2. Nicole Basaraba   3. Donna Donabella   4. Pam Hawley

YOU’RE IT!!

You know I love hearing from you and anxiously await your comments! Please tell me something about yourself…anything at all. I’d love to get to know all my readers better.

Don’t forget to stop by for these special events next week:

Sept 6th-100th Post Celebration!                   

 Sept 7th-Author interview, Jody Hedlund

 Sept 9th-Life List Club Friday, with a new member!